Four people were killed and at least six were injured in accidents involving falling trees today as the worst storm in years battered London and the South.

Bethany Freeman, 17, was crushed to death in a caravan on the family’s property in Kent. Bethany, a pupil at Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School, lived at Tess’s Barn with her mother and brother Drummond, a law student.

Home wrecked: Emergency crews at the scene in west London Picture: Jeremy Selwyn
A man died despite frantic efforts to free him after a tree fell on his car as he drove to work in Watford. He has been named by police as 51-year-old Donal Drohan from Harrow, originally from Waterford in Ireland.

A man and a woman died after they were caught beneath rubble when a tree blown over by hurricane-force winds caused a suspected gas explosion. Detectives found the body of the man, in his 40s, at around noon at the address in Hounslow. He has been identified and next of kin have been informed. The woman was found dead an hour and a half later and police are working to establish her identity.

The explosion wrecked three houses. One woman was unaccounted for this afternoon as fire crews searched the wreckage and specialist search and rescue dogs were brought in.

More than 270,000 homes were without power and tens of thousands of commuters stranded by 99mph storm St Jude.

Coastguards had earlier called off their search for a 14-year-old boy swept out to sea.

Dylan Alkins had gone down to the seafront in Newhaven, East Sussex, with friends to watch the storm when he was hit by a massive wave. His friends were powerless to save him as he was washed away yesterday afternoon.

The Environment Agency issued 12 flood warnings in south-west England, East Anglia and the Midlands. There are also 132 flood alerts across England and Wales.

David Cameron said the loss of life as a result of the storm was "hugely regrettable". He added: "We have to make sure the emergency services can act as fast as they can to help people."

Kent police said Bethany was killed by a falling tree in Hever at 7.18am. Emergency services were unable to save her. Neighbours used chainsaws to try to free the trapped teenager after the 40ft tree fell.

Street damage: scaffolding collapsed on cars on a street in Leyton, East London
One man who tried to cut her free said: "We tried, but there wasn’t anything we could do. It’s such a tragedy. They were a really lovely family, this whole community will be badly affected for a while."

He said the family had been trying for two years to build a "proper house" on the farm, but kept being refused planning permission.

A pink mattress, believed to be where the teenager was sleeping was lying under the tree.

Tree damage: A bus is freed from under a fallen tree by workers on Turnpike lane Twitter: @usmans123
The motorist from Harrow was crushed to death on his way to work this morning. The road was closed while rescuers tried to free him from the wreckage of the red Peugeot 307 at around 6:50am.

Passengers on a bus saw the accident on Lower High Street in Watford and also tried to help but he died at the scene despite attempts to revive him. Ambulance spokesman Gary Sanderson said: "First and foremost our thoughts are with the man’s family at this tragic time."

Dylan was with around 10 friends when tragedy struck. One wrote on Facebook: "A massive wave came and washed him out in front of my and his eyes there was nothing we could do apart from wait, he was in the water for about two hours.

Search called off: Dylan Alkins, 14
Dylan was a very good mate of ours and had some very funny memories and he will be missed by loads of people rip little man x."

Writing on a tribute page his mother Amelia Kattenhorn, from Cheshire, wrote: "Devastated completely and utterly devastated." His grandmother Carroll Alkins, 55, said: "It’s very raw, as you can expect. We don’t really know any more. It’s very hard."

Deserted: Normally packed for rush-hour, this was the scene at Waterloo this morning Picture: Jeremy Selwyn
Football-mad Dylan, who went to Tideway school, had lived in Liverpool and Lewes before moving to Newhaven with his father Danny and younger brother.

The gas blast at 7.45am in Hounslow blew apart three houses and damaged a fourth. Twelve people were evacuated to a nearby nursing home. The explosion damaged properties up to 50 yards away.

London Fire Service said crews were working on making the houses safe while specialist national search and rescue dogs were drafted in to help in the operation. The blast is believed to have happened after a tree was blown over, fracturing a gas mains and causing a leak.

Tough going: a commuter leans forward against the wind on London Bridge this morning Picture: Jeremy Selwyn
Neighbour Niraj Bhati said: "I have never heard anything like that explosion. Windows were smashed, it was horrible and very scary. Two old women came out of the ruins and one seemed injured."

Ross Ellis, 40, a hospital manager said: "I thought it was a car bomb. It was a huge bang.

"I looked out of my window and two old ladies were coming out of the wreckage. One had blood over her and there was a zimmer frame next to her. It was a horrible scene."

Krishna Chevendra, 40, whose house backs onto the destroyed homes said: "It was like a bomb going off, my windows were blown out. My kids were crying as we took them away from the house, it was carnage."

No service: A board showing cancelled trains this morning at Waterloo Picture: Jeremy Selwyn
Firefighter Matthew Burrows said: "There was a gas leak but whether that was caused by the tree falling we do not know yet."

Three family pets were saved from the wreckage by firefighters after being stuck for three hours. In London a man in his 50s was taken to hospital in a neck brace after a tree fell on his van in Ealing, while another victim, aged 26, was hit by part of a falling tree near Clapton Common early this morning and taken to hospital.

A 29-year-old man was hit by a tree near in Ealing just before 6.45am and treated for head, chest and foot injuries before being taken to hospital.

Wind break: A woman nearly loses her scarf in high winds on London Bridge Picture: Jeremy Selwyn
London Ambulance Service Deputy Director of Operations Peter McKenna said: "It is proving to be a busy morning for us for storm-related injuries. We would encourage anyone to consider if their journey is entirely necessary. Remember a storm of this severity has the potential to uproot trees and damage buildings so if walking, take great care and look out for flying debris."

Tree down: This was the scene on Green Lanes this morning Picture: @MsAntoniaK
It is understood a number of barrels of acid to clean the scaffolding were being stored on it when it fell.

Nobody was injured but several cars and lamp-posts were crushed. Some of the terraced houses were also been damaged. Chris Robbins, leader of Waltham Forest council, said: "It happened at the height of the storm. It was really battering away. Thank goodness no one was hurt and that it’s half-term so it’s relatively quiet. This is a very busy area normally."

Elsewhere a crane collapsed from a building site on Old Kent Road at around 6am blocking the road, while a Holocaust memorial garden in Tottenham was destroyed by a falling tree. More than 100 trees were blown down on Hampstead Heath by the high winds.